


Home: A Girl Meet World Story

by lalipop



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Gen, Multi, girl meets world - Freeform, lucaya - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6859825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalipop/pseuds/lalipop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's senior year of high school for the gang of friends, and a year of many first and lasts: first love, first heartbreak, first last day. Riley is nervous about what the future holds; Farkle is afraid of losing his girlfriend; Lucas wants to grasp at all new opportunities with his parents' crumbling relationship; Zay is hiding a secret only Maya is aware of; Maya is dealing with heartache and what she wants to do with her life. As the five friends navigate the last year of high school, and eventually post-college, with love, heartache, friendship, and the future, they will discover new things about themselves and about the people around them. Will they be able to follow their hearts and their dreams? Will they be able to eventually find "the one"?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Riley

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering why I haven't listed too many ships in the blurb, it's because I didn't want to ruin too much of the story for anyone who might be interested in reading it. I think you can figure out the direction it's going in by the second chapter, but still, I just stuck with writing Lucaya and let you all see what happens from there.
> 
> I plan to post a chapter once a week on Fridays. Please let me know what you think of the story! :)

It was not a good morning--a surprising feeling coming from a girl who never ceased to make the best out of any situation, to see the silver lining in everything. Riley Matthews never saw a morning as a bad thing. In fact, she always saw morning as a new beginning, a way to start the day fresh without worrying about the happenings of the day before. But lately, her morning were filled with the strangest feeling of glumness and a strange dread that she couldn't quite but a finger on. It bothered her so much that she could always feel that feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if something terrible was about to happen and she didn't know what it was or how she was going to stop it. 

A sigh escaped Riley's beautiful lips, a quick smile covering her face as she apply the last touches of make up. Her reflection smiled back at her, and she knew that no one outside her room would realize that she was, indeed, in a terrible mood. Why did anyone need to know, anyway? Why ruin her family's good morning because she was feeling....well, she honestly couldn't even name the feeling. Maybe you're getting your period. It was possibly. Mood swings were a thing, after all. Whatever this feeling was, it was relatively new, and for the past few weeks, she'd done an excellent job of ignoring it. So, as she smoothed down her hair and her outfit, she smiled a little more and let a spark show in her eyes, and pushed the strange feeling aside. Today, of all days, she really didn't need it. 

"There you are, honey! Eat quickly--you're running late for school!" Topanga, Riley's mother, frantically exclaimed as Riley walked into the kitchen. Riley glanced at the microwave clock, her eyes widening quickly at the time. She had to be out of her house in ten minutes--how had she let the time pass her? Her first day of senior year, and she was going to be late. That wasn't acceptable. 

"Oh, no, I will not be late my first day of school!" She looked at the table full of food her mother had place for both she and Auggie, and frowned. Now she felt bad. "I'm so sorry, Mom, but I don't have time to eat all this food you made me." She grabbed a blueberry pancake off the small stack and an and apple and headed for the door. "I'll be up on time tomorrow, I swear! Bye, Mom!"

"But Ri--"

The door closed behind Riley as she quickly made her way to Topanga's Cafe. 

Beep! 

[text: Maya]: Where are you??  
[text: Maya]: You're actually running late aren't you?

Riley put her phone back into her pocket as she pushed open the door of Topanga's spotted Maya, and quickly pulled her best friend to her feet as she rushed them out the door--without one word.

"Whoa there, sunshine. You're the late one, not me, remember? Relax, we'll make it to school on time."

"It's not about making it on time, Maya. I don't want to be rushing into class on the first day of senior year! I wanna be there early enough to relax and not run into class." She gave Maya a pointed look over her shoulder as the two walked towards the subway. 

"So basically not do what I usually do?" Maya shook her head but smiled as she kept pace with Riley's long strides. "I don't see what the big deal is with this year. Yeah, it's the last year of high school before we go our separate ways--"

"That's it, Maya. It's our last year together and I want every second to count. I'm not wasting any of it."

"Wait." Maya suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing a bunch of nasty looks to be shot their way by the morning rush of people. "Just because it's our last year doesn't change anything. You get that, right? We're not gonna stop talking to each other because high school is over."

Riley looked at Maya, processing her words. Maybe that was it, the thing that had been bothering her the second half of the summer to this morning: they were all going to have to go different places when the school year was over. Riley was excited about facing the world and growing up, but what if she had to do it alone? What if there was no more Maya by her side? Or any of her other friends? They all had different futures, and it was hard to think about. So instead, Riley smiled big at Maya, shaking the thought out of her head. "Of course I know that, silly. Now come on, I'm no stopping 'til we get to school now."

John Quincy Adams High School was not as crowded as Riley had expected it to be. There were a few students here and there, but most of them were athletes or walking out of the few club meetings that were taking place on the first day of school. When she expressed her concern to Maya, her friend simply rolled her eyes at her. 

"Riles, it's twenty minutes before the first bell. Of course the place is basically empty." Maya took her phone out of her back pocket and after a moment of reading something on it, she sighed. "But lucky for you, our boys are here. Come one, they're in the Courtyard."

The Courtyard was the high school's main hang out area when the weather was decent. It was very large, big enough to fit a minimum of three hundred students, and was scattered with benches and tables, with bushes and trees surrounding the entire area. It was quite beautiful, and a nice place to have lunch of hang out between classes. But this early before school started, it was basically empty save two boys sitting on a table in a far corner. 

"Late--what were you doing, Maya?" Zay Babineaux said from where he sat on top of the table as the two girls approached them.

"Why do you assume it was me that made us late?" Zay simply gave Maya a pointed look, a smirk on his face as if it say 'please, darling'. "I was on time! It was Riley that was running late. Geez, such little confidence, you little shit. Scooch." She pushed him a little to make room for herself on the table. 

"Riley was the one running late? That's new," Farkle said. He was sitting on on the bench of the table, a book open beside him. "What happened?"

"Nothing. People run late from time to time. I just..slept in." She didn't want to say that she sat on her bay window for a good thirty minutes thinking about her 'terrible feeling' instead of getting readying. "Does it matter now, though? I'm here now." She smiled big, taking a seat on the ground in front of the table, her legs laid out in front of her and her hands behind her. "Where's Lucas?"

"Baseball practice. Varsity started practice a few weeks ago," Zay replied simply.

"Aren't you on the team?" Maya asked as she took an apple out of her bag. 

"I am. But this was some optional practice--mostly doing lifts and running and stuff. Coach isn't even going to be there. Lucas put it together for the team if they wanted to do it. I, of course, decided I'd much rather take the morning off. I'm not the captain of the team." 

"Surprise, surprise," Maya mumbled--which earned her a nudge to the side from Zay. 

"What're you reading, Farkle?" Riley asked, changing the subject. "You can't possibly be doing homework."

"No, I already read a ahead in some of classes, so no need for that." Maya rolled her eyes, but Farkle only ignored it, something he had mastered when they were much younger. "It's how-to for college apps and figuring out what you want to do and where you want to go."

Riley's stomach dropped. College. It was something she was trying very hard to avoid, but it was an inevitable point of topic. Being in their senior year now, she knew it was something everyone was going to want to talk about: getting out of high school, being on their own, chasing dreams, parties, new experiences--it was so much that she wasn't sure she was ready for. It also didn't help that she had no idea where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do with her life. 

She realized she had been quiet for a little too long but before Riley could reply, Zay cut in. Thank God. "Farkle, man, why do you, of all people, need to read that? You already know where you want to go and you're a genius so you're going to get in. You should be the most relaxed kid in the whole damn class right now."

"You can never be too sure." But then Farkle smiled. "But I know I'll get into Harvard." 

"How about we ditch the college talk and focus on anything else less boring." Maya gave Farkle and Zay a pointed look, and Riley couldn't be more grateful. She hadn't relayed her concerns to Maya but that was mostly because, despite not having actually discussed it, she knew Maya was worried about how she was going to be paying for school. They'd have to talk about eventually, though, and Riley wasn't sure how much she was looking forward to that. What if she and Maya didn't go to college together? What if they went in completely different places and never talked to each other again?

The first bell suddenly rang and Riley shook the thoughts out of her head. Maya was right: nothing was going to change. She wasn't going to let anything change. But a part of her couldn't help wondering that maybe, just maybe, the two girls might be wrong this time around. 

"Let's get to class."


	2. Farkle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter of the story. If you're wondering how many chapter this is going to be, honestly I have no idea. The story has been completely outlined, but chapter-wise i'm not quite sure yet how long i'm going to be making it. I do assume it will be well past 20 chapters though. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! And thanks for reading :)

The first day of school had been like any other, in Farkle's opinion, but Riley had gone on and one about how their 'last first day' had to be right. The young genius didn't understand what was the need to be so sentimental about the whole thing, but it had been important to Riley, so it was important to him. So, Farle had made it a point to take a few pictures and match Riley's excitement, as had the rest of his friends. That was what he loved most about his small group of friends: despite the subject not being as important to one of them as the other, they all made it important because it mattered to one of them. After all, that was what friendship was all about, right?

Currently sitting in Topanga's Cafe. Farkle let a small sigh escape and leaned back in his chair so he simply balanced on the back legs of the chair. He had been reading a book for his lit class (having already been assigned three chapters for next class), and though Farkle didn't bore to easily with school work, this book seemed to be having a hard time holding his interest. 

"Farkle!" Blue eyes glided to the girl sitting beside him at the small table, her mouth gaping almost as if she were offended by his manner. "Stop doing that. You'll get hurt!"

With a small smile at the girl's reaction, Farkle carefully put the chair back on all four legs. "I wasn't going to get hurt, Brooke."

"It's possible. People lose balance and fall over." Brooke Miller's face turned from Farkle's to back to her laptop screen where she had been typing away a college essay. She was currently working on an application for New York University--a school about three and a half hours away from Harvard. Farkle had frowned a little when she said she was working on it, but made sure she hadn't seen it. He couldn't quite help himself: though three and a half hours wasn't that much of a distance, any distance at all from his girlfriend was a scary one.

"Yeah, it is. But there's the other percent--" But he didn't get to finish his thought because Brooke simply threw him a glare that said, Don't push is, Minkus. Farkle smiled. When Brooke glared or even scolded him, he knew it meant she cared. If she didn't care, she didn't say anything to anyone. It was one of the first things he's learned about her when she moved to New York City. "Okay, okay, I digress."

"Your nerdy cuteness is gross, you guys know that, right?" A voice said from behind him. Farkle rolled his eyes and shifted in his chair to face Maya, who was cleaning the table beside their's. His friend had been working at Topanga's since they started high school, coming to the small cafe after her art lessons. "I mean, really, can't you two take it down a notch? It's been, like, what? A year since you two have been dating? I thought it would have gone away by now..."

"Are you insulting and complimenting us at the same time? I can't tell whether to say thank you or piss off," Brooke replied without looking up from her laptop. Maya smirked at his girlfriend's response and Farkle simply shrugged in her direction. 

"I guess it's a double-whammy today, Miller." 

"You're weird as fuck, Hart." 

"Ladies, ladies, let's just breathe, yeah?" 

Maya chuckled as she patted Farkle on the shoulder. "Oh, relax, Farkle. You know we're kidding with each other, right?"

This time Brooke looked up from her laptop, shooting a smile at the both of them. "Farkle, she's the reason we're even together. Of course I don't hate her." Which was true. It was junior year when Brooke moved to the city, and she and Maya had been in drama class together. While most of the kids in class really seemed taken by the games and little skits the class did, Maya and Brooke absolutely hated all of it. Their shared hate was what drew them closer together, and then one day Brooke was sitting with them at lunch. And the next, and the next, and the next. Eventually, Farkle began to really start liking the way she talked, her snark, her sass, he genius, her caring, her smile--until he finally asked her out. It was a big moment for him, and he was thrilled she said yes. 

"I never said hate. I said stop fighting." 

"I think bickering would be the better term for it." Brooke replied, and Farkle smiled. He caught Maya's eyes and she only shook her head, because she knew that Farkle like it when Brooke corrected it her. He wasn't quite sure why, seeing as being the smartest an brightest in their year was his 'thing', but there was just something about Brooke's unwavering confidence and the simple way she just tried to one-up him. Competition and bickering was just their thing. 

"Well, I'll let the two of you get back to it," Maya said, and moved to the tables across the cafe. 

Brooke had a small smile as she watched Maya go, and then she turned back to Farkle. "So, hey. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? Anna's making your favorite."

"Her macaroni and cheese? You know I wouldn't miss that for anything."

"Good," she says, and leans in, pulling Farkle by his sweater and giving him a kiss. 

"Ugh, get a room!" Farkle sighed and turned to see Zay sitting in the chair beside him, his school bag dropped on the ground. 

"Zay," Brooke said with her eyes back on her laptop.

"Brooke," he mimicked. He turned back to Farkle. "Okay, so I had to run pretty quickly--and leave practice early which I'm probably going to get into trouble for latter but this is life and death--but we have a problem."

Farkle's eyebrows shot up, and Brooke simply ignored them. When she was working, she did what she could to avoid distraction. Zay's shenanigans, as Brooke would always put it, were always a distraction when it came to her work. When there was no work involved, though, the two got along surprisingly well. "What?"

"Lucas is gonna do it. Now."

Farkle started. "Now? What do you mean now? I thought we went over this--Riley's not even here." 

"He keeps saying how it's senior year and this is his last chance. I don't know, man! I told him maybe he should think about it a little more--"

"What are you two talking about?" Brooke said, a semi-worried and curious look on her face. 

But neither Farkle nor Zay got the chance to answer, because right then Lucas and Riley walked in. Lucas's face showed worry and nervousness, while Riley's was more or less determined as she stomped past them and to straight to Maya, grabbing her elbow and dragging her to the back of the cafe. Lucas saw the three of them sitting at the table, staring, and sighed. 

"Hey."

"What did you do? I thought we talked about this. I thought we told you to give Riley some time. To talk to her and to Maya." Farkle was not happy. He didn't want to see his friends hurt again. The three of them--Lucas, Maya, an Riley--had been all over the place with their emotions when they realized thy liked each other so much. Deciding to stay friends had been the smart thing to do, in his opinion. And when the got to high school and started dating other people, things went back to normal. He could understand that Lucas still liked Riley, and now they were older, he felt it could be handled better too. But there had to be careful thinking, strategizing even, but Lucas had acted on impulse. He'd been doing that a lot lately. 

"What did she say?" Zay asked. He did it quickly, as if he knew Lucas and Farkle would argue about this again. Which they had, ending with Lucas storming off. 

"Nothing. I asked her out and she just marched right in here and...you know." 

Zay groaned. "This is gonna be middle school all over again." He ignored the glare Lucas shot him. 

"What happened in middle school?" They all turned to Brooke, who had stopped typing and was now resting her chin on her hand. She was watching them like she would watch a reality show: with amusement. 

"A lot. I'll tell you later." Farkle sighed, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She smiled in response and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. It was amazing how Brooke always seemed to know when something was bothering him. But then again, his agitation couldn't have been less than obvious. 

Just then, Riley and Maya emerged from the back. Riley walked around the counter straight to Lucas, and Maya stayed behind in. Riley hesitated, then shot a look over her shoulder to Maya. She simply smiled, and gave a quick nod. "Okay, Lucas," she said. "I'll go on a date with you." 

Farkle could only look at Maya, who was doing well to not meet anyone's eyes.


	3. Lucas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I would just like to apologize for the very late update! Finals and the end of school and life just got in the way and I wasn't able to upload any new stuff. But here, finally, is the next chapter. I will go back to my weekly schedule of posting a new chapter every Friday! Thank you to everyone who as read, reviewed, and kudos-ed my work! Enjoy :)

Farkle was not happy with him. "Happy" was probably an understatement. Farkle was disappointed with him--maybe even pissed. Whatever he was, it was enough so that he hadn't spoken to Lucas since he had asked Riley out on a date. This had never happened before. Sure, in the years since they had become friends they would have small arguments, mostly disagreements about small things like what movie to go see or what restaurant to eat at. This was big, though. Lucas could feel it. But no matter how bad he felt about his and Farkle's sudden situation, he just couldn't feel that bad. Why?

Because finally--finally--Lucas was going on a proper date with Riley Matthews. And he could not be more thrilled.

Farkle was something to worry about later. And he knew Zay would take care of it for him, anyway. Zay always had a way of making sure things would never get too out of hand.

"What do you mean, 'take care of it'? How the hell am I supposed to take care of this, Friar?"

Lucas turned to Zay, who was laying across the couch in Lucas's living room. Zay was throwing a baseball towards the ceiling with one hand and catching it with another. The guy was so underratedly good at baseball, and if Zay would just care a little more, Lucas knew he could play college ball. Hell, Zay could go pro with the potential he had. "I don't know, man, you're good with making sure we all...don't fight. You've always known when to step in if things ever got heated."

"And when was the last time that ever happened? Never," he said before Lucas could respond. "We're friends, and friends get into squabbles from time to time, but this is a bigger deal, Lucas, and you know that. Farkle warned you--hell, I warned you--but you didn't seem to want to listen to either of us."

Lucas watched as Zay threw the ball and then caught it midair before Zay could reach it. "What, so you're mad at me too?"

Zay sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to face Lucas. "I'm not mad at you. But this whole thing with you, Riley, and Maya has always been complicated. I get that it's senior year and I get that you feel it's your last chance to be with Riley, but this whole thing..." He hesitated. "It's like you've finally made your choice. Years later, but it's feels like a decision."

Lucas stared at Zay, abd after a moment, let out a breath. He was right--of course he was right. And it must have shown on his face because Zay simply raised a eyebrow and went back to throwing the ball (after snatching it out of Lucas's hand). Lucas went back to watching it, but now his mind was on Riley and Maya, as it had been all those years ago. 

He hadn't meant to 'make a decision'. His aim hadn't been to hurt anyone, just as it hadn't been his aim to hurt anyone in middle school. For him, as of late, it really did feel like now was his only chance to date Riley--especially with all the talk Riley had done over the summer about this truly being their last year together. Everyone seemed to be brush if off, but the idea had stuck to Lucas more than he liked to admit. 

So, he felt the need to act. When he found out that Riley and Charlie were over, it felt like a sign--take the chance, ask her out. It wasn't that Maya was a worse choice or anything; Maya was one of his best friends, and in the past years they had gotten much closer. He could be open with, and she with him. They still had their back and forths, their constant bicker, now riddled with some flirting, but Lucas hadn't thought of Maya in a romantic sense since middle school. Not that he had of Riley--at least not since this past summer--but Lucas could always see himself with Riley. Riley made sense. 

Lucas's thoughts were disturbed when he heard something crash and his mother's voice yelling, which was followed by his father's voice, also yelling. They were fighting. Again. 

"Wanna get out of here?" Zay asked, his expression barely changed. His friend had been at his house enough to get what was going on with his parents. 

"Yeah."

"Great!" He jumped off the couch, throwing the ball at Lucas. "There's a part at Taylor's tonight."

***

Jonathan Taylor was known to throw some of the best parties in the school. He was a rich kid wand his parents owned one of the more nice and bigger houses around the city, meaning his fellow students had a large space to part. Tonight was no different than the other. The 'Last Frist Day' party was in full swing: a giant keg and a table with an assortment of drinks, people laughing, talking and hooking up in all corners of the house, yells and screams heard all around, things being thrown around and broken. It was like any other Taylor party, much to Lucas's satisfaction. 

Walking through the front door, Lucas and Zay nodded at Taylor, who waved at them from the corner he was sitting in with Molly Chang in his lap. "The guy has a new girls in his lap every week," Lucas commented. 

"His game is just that strong. Plus, you'd have to be blind not to think the guy's good looking," Zay replied, eyes skimming the crowd until they stopped on Lucas, who had his eyebrows raised in amusement. "What? You know it's true, man. I can appreciate a good-lookin' dude."

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyway--anyone here tonight?" He knew with certainty that Riley wouldn't be here--it was well past 10 and it was a school night, so no way she would be here. Farkle showed up at a few of these parties, mostly because Brooke like them, but Lucas wasn;t sure he had it in him to talk to Farkle right now (if he would talk to Lucas at all).

"Yeah, there." Zay pointed down the hall, where the drinks table was visible. There, mixing herself a drink, stood Maya. She didn't go to all of these kinds of parties, but she went to enough that Lucas wasn't too surprised to see here there. 

"What's up, losers?" Maya said with a grin as Lucas and Zay approached the table. Lucas smiled and picked up his own cup, and Zay and maya fist-bumped. 

"We were bored," Zay replied, looking out into the crowd. "Shit, there's McMillan. The fucker owes me thirty bucks. I'll be right back."

Maya snorted and turned to face Lucas. "McMillan never has any money on him. Zay's not getting his thirty back any time soon."

Lucas shook his head and took a sip from his cup. He looked at Maya, who was now bobbing her head to the music and scanning the crowd. He had to talk to her. He had talk to everyone about him and Riley, but not to her, the one person he should have spoken to first probably. He supposed he had just been scared--nervous even. With a deep breath, and another sip, Lucas said, "Maya, are you--are we--okay?" 

Maya snapped her attention back to Lucas, here eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Why wouldn't we be?" Lucas only blinked. Maya sighed and said, "We're fine, Lucas. This whole thing--it's fine. You've always had a thing for her--it was bound to happen at some point." 

"Yeah, but in middle school--"

"Middle school was years ago. We've all grown and changed as people since then." She smiled softly at him, a type of smile that no one was very accustomed to seeing too often. "Really, Lucas, I'm happy for you guys, happy you're giving it a go. So just chill out and enjoy your drink." She knocked her own drink back in a few gulps and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm out--got some things to do. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas."

"See ya." He watched her walk away and smiled. She was okay--they were okay. He could let himself stop feeling so bad now.


	4. Zay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for the late update. I tried to get this done by yesterday but I got a little busy. Also, I will be going out of town next week, so the update may be a little late. I will try to get it up before I leave, but if not, I'll just have to get it to you guys later. I may pop out two chapters at once in that case, possibly. 
> 
> Enjoy! :)

"Farkle, I get why you're mad, but maybe give Lucas a break? I know you didn't want him to bring up this whole "triangle" shit again but he did and everyone seems okay." Zay kicked at stray rock, pacing back and forth in front of one of many benches on the Central Park walkway. He and Farkle had been talking for nearly half an hour, attempting to get his friend to forgive Lucas for his stupidity. But Zay could understand Farkle's stubbornness--Lucas had gone behind both of their backs and just done as he pleased. Of course, it was his decision to do as he pleased and ask out who he wanted, but both he and Farkle could see that this triangle could break them all up.

And this not the year for this--not their last year together.

"Zay, I'm sorry, but I can't help how I feel. Lucas shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have just asked Riley out without finishing our discussion. And before you say it," Farkle added quickly before Zay could cut him off, "Maya is not okay. She hasn't said anything--and she never will. She loves Riley and Lucas too much to say anything. But I saw how she looked. It's a feeling, Zay, and I know Maya."

"What're you saying? That I don't know Maya too?" But Zay didn't say it with as much gusto as he would have liked because he knew Farkle made a point. Even if Maya wasn't okay with any of this, she would never say anything. During Taylor's party, after Maya had left, Lucas had informed Zay that Maya was completely fine with Lucas taking out Riley on a date, and Zay had just nodded without really thinking about it. Zay sighed into the phone. "You really don't think she's okay?"

Now it was Farkle's turn to sigh. "I can't be sure, I suppose. But something just seems off. I don't know, Zay, I'm just getting a bad feeling."

They were both quiet for a moment, and Zay took that moment to take a seat on the bench. Zay really hoped nothing bad would come of all this--how bad could it be for two of their friends to date each other? Who even knows if this will last at all?

Farkle sighed on the other end of the phone. "I gotta go. I'm meeting up with Brooke for lunch. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya." Zay put the phone aside and let out a breath. This was all so much, more than he honestly needed right now. With it being the last year if high school, Zay had so much to think about, including his own future. Unlike Lucas, he really didn't have much time to be thinking about relationships.

"Yo, Babineaux. Why so glum?" Zay turned his head just when Tara Atlas plopped onto the bench beside him, a big smile on her face. Her brown hair fell in waves just above her shoulders, her bright green eyes immediately capturing his attention. It tended to be the fate of anyone who looked at Tara.

"Tara, hey," Zay smiled in return. "You're early."

"Well, I saw you talking and pacing on your phone and that," she gestured to his face, "on your beautiful face and figured I should give you a second before coming to bother you."

"You're not bothering me."

"So what's wrong?" she asked genuinely.

Zay considered Tara for a moment. He really wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her about all the shit between his friends, the difficulty with figuring out what he wanted to do after high school, the trouble with keeping a secret from his friends. At least the last bit he knew she could understand. She went to the same school as his, but was a year under than him. The two had known each other for almost three years now, and despite how well they knew each other, she was kept separate from his friends, just as he was from her's. It was all a part of the crew. Personal lives and crew lives were kept separate--it was just how it was.

Zay sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing."

Tara simply quirked an eyebrow but didn't push him. She never had, which he had always appreciated. "All right. Well, we should head over soon otherwise Jack will actually kill us. Remember last time we were late?"

He did, in fact, remember what happened last time. It had not been pleasant. Zay glanced at his phone, and after a moment, let out a sigh. He was going to regret what he was about to do. "Actually, you go ahead, Tara. I'm not going today." He got up, pocketing his phone.

Tara also got up, her eyes wide. "Skipping? You can't skip! If Jack will kill you for being late, he'll resurrect you and destroy you for not showing up. You know how he gets!"

"I know," Zay said, walking backwards in the direction he had come from. "But this is really important too. I'll deal with Jack tomorrow. Plus, I've been a part of the crew for three years and have maybe skipped a total of, like, five times. I'll be fine."

Tara simply shook her head, but gave him a small wave. "Whatever, man. See ya."

With a wave in return, Zay turned around and headed to where he knew he definitely had to go.

* * * * * * * 

"Well, isn't this a nice little surprise." Maya Hart quirked an eyebrow from the front door of her apartment, leaning against the doorframe with her hands in her back pockets. "Aren't you supposed to be at rehearsal or something?"

Zay shrugged, matching Maya's smile. "I skipped. I, uh...I wanted to talk to you." Maya's expression faltered just the smallest bit, and in that moment they both knew what the conversation was going to be about. "You gonna let me in?"

Maya nodded, pushing off the doorframe. "Let's go to my room. Mom and Shawn are in the kitchen and I don't really need to talk about this with them too."

Zay followed Maya, waving at Katy and Shawn on the way to her room. As he walked in, he couldn't help but smile. Of all of his friends, Maya's room had to be his absolute favorite (probably because he didn't go that often). It was like an explosion of color; a peak inside the brain of Maya Hart. There were posters and famous works of art hanging all around the room. The space above her desk--which was covered in art books, sketch books, a laptop, and all sorts of papers, brushes, and art supplies--was adorned in many different postcards which he was aware were all sent from Shawn when he was out of town. There was a candle alight in the corner, giving the room a slight jasmine scent. A tapestry designed in an Indian style hung from behind her bed, which was not made and was instead a mess of blankets and pillows. The window was open, so the commotion from the street travelled slightly into the room, which only seemed add to its aesthetic.

He plopped onto Maya's bed, where his hand slapped against a folder of sorts. Shifting, he saw it was a catalogue for a school in Prague. "Prague? You're looking at school's in Prague?"

"I don't know--just something I was reading." She quickly took it and placed it on the nightstand with as much nonchalance as possible. Zay decided not to comment on it--they had something else they needed to discuss. "So why did you skip rehearsal?" Maya asked before he could say anything. He only smirked at her, letting her know he knew she was trying to avoid the subject. Maya only shrugged in response.

"I told you I needed to talk to you."

"Yeah, but it's not important enough for you to just skip rehearsal. Jack is going to--"

"Kill me. I heard." He pulled himself up in a sitting position. "But this is important. I'll deal with Jack later."

Maya sighed, finally joining Zay on the bed. "Fine. Just get on with it then."

"You okay?" Zay looked at Maya, who wasn't meeting his eyes. She was staring at a piece on her wall. Well, piece was pushing--it was a purple cat Riley had made for Maya a few years back that still hung beside the Monet replica she'd gotten somewhere. "Maya?"

"All of you have asked me that question so many times. How many times do I have to say I'm fine?" She finally turned to look at Zay. "Let's be real--it was bound to happen at some point. Those two were always gonna happen. All that stuff in middle school...it's ancient history. We were younger back then, and things are different now. The two dated other people and now they can do it together with some proper experience."

"Yeah, but what about you, Maya? Are you really over Lucas?"

She sighed again. "Yeah. Of course I am. I got past him after freshman year." She smiled. "Honestly, Zay, I'm happy they're giving it another go. I have a feeling their first date will be as good as the one in middle school. Better, actually."

Zay got the distinct feeling she was lying, because Farkle was still right: even if she did still have feelings Lucas, there was no way she was going to tell them. But Zay had to let her know that if she really did have feelings for him... "Maya, if you do still have feelings for Lucas, and if this is actually bothering you or whatever, you can talk to me. I won't go tell anyone."

Maya gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks, Zay. But really, I'm fine."

"You've been saying 'fine' quite a bit."

"You guys keep on asking the same question."

They sat in silence for a bit, thinking about what may or may not come in this year. Things were already changing, he could feel it, and even though he hated to admit it, he thought that maybe Farkle's 'bad feeling' wasn't too off.

Zay's phone broke the silence. "Shit, it's Jack," he said, reading the caller ID.

"You better take that."

But Zay let it go to voicemail. "I'll take care of that later."

"No, go. Go to rehearsal. Better late than not show up."

"But--"

"I'll probably end up seeing you later tonight anyway," Maya cut in, getting off her bed. "I think Jack wants to do some stuff with the Underground tonight."

Zay nodded. The Underground. Their own little secret. The one thing they hadn't told their group of friends about. "All right. Well, I guess I'll see ya?"

"You will," Maya said with a smile.

And with that, Zay left the Harts' place. He wasn't sure if he was feeling any better about the situation. In fact, he might have been feeling worse. He couldn't get a proper read on Maya--not that anyone ever really could--but he didn't want anyone getting hurt.

He let out a sigh and called Jack.


	5. Maya: part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Once again, i am so sorry for the late update. I was on vacation for the past two weeks and just couldn't get around to posting. Now that I'm back, my updates will, hopefully, be more regular. The chapter im posting now was supposed to be longer but since it's been so long since i've posted, i decided to just break it into two parts. I hope you enjoy!

"Ugh," Maya groaned as she fell back on to her bed after Zay left. She was so sick of her friends' questions. Every single one of them had asked her the same exact thing: are you okay? Is this all right? If anyone asked those questions again, she was sure she was going to hurl something at them.

Because the truth of the matter was...she didn't know. Of course, Maya had been very quick to assure all of them that Riley and Lucas going out wasn't a big deal. And, really, it wasn't. One date didn't mean that her two friends were in a committed relationship now. If she had her facts straight, they would go on their first date tonight, and then they would all know whether or not they want to keep going. Either way, all her friends' worry was over nothing.

But what if it did become serious? she couldn't help wondering.

Maya shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face. If it did...then nothing. She would be happy for her friends and that would be that. She hadn't thought of Lucas in a romantic sense since the three had decided not to do anything about their feelings. She had focused on staying and becoming one of Lucas's closer friends, and that had truly been for the better. Lucas suddenly wanting to ask out Riley was, admittedly, random, but it was his decision to make.

A few years late, but there it was. What she had always suspected: Lucas liked Riley. Not her.

And she was okay. She had to be.

She was stirred from her thoughts with a knock at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yep," Maya replied, not moving from her position on the bed.

Some shuffling around her organized chaos of a room and she felt someone lay in the bed beside her. "What's up, kid?" Shawn asked.

"A print of Starry Night." She pointed to where, in fact, she had tapped a print of Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh on the ceiling, right above where her pillow would be.

"I meant with your life, but that's nice to." Shawn said with the smile she knew he was wearing without really looking. Over the years the two had grown close, and small things like this were what Maya noticed about Shawn, and Shawn about Maya. They really had created a wonderful father/daughter dynamic.

"Nothing." After a pause, she sighed. "I mean, there's something, but I don't want to talk about it 'til I know how big a deal it's really going to be." In other words, she thought, she knew talking about it would make whatever she was feeling real...in a bad sort of way.

Shawn only nodded. "Okay, I get that." It was quiet for a while--not an uncomfortable silence, never an uncomfortable silence. It was something Maya had learned quick with all the time Shawn had begun spending with she and her mother: he was someone they could sit in comfortable silence with. She would paint or sketch or draw, her mother would read over scripts and do her own things, Shawn reading a book or playing with his camera. It was nice, and it was something Maya looked for in a person: if she could sit in a comfortable silence with them, she could keep them around.

"Prague?"

"What?" Maya snapped her head to the left to see Shawn holding the folder Zay had glanced at earlier. He must have grabbed it off of the night stand.

"You want to go to art school in Prague?"

He was looking at her now, an eyebrow raised. Maya opened her mouth, then closed it. She breathed in, then breathed out. "I don't know. Maybe. It's stupid. I probably couldn't even afford it."

"Hey -- whoa -- it's not stupid." He turned back to the folder, flipping through the pages. "It's not stupid at all. You're an artist, Maya. This is what you're meant to do."

"Yeah, well." She got up from the bed, fixing her jacket, fluffing out her hair. "We'll see. I don't know. Anyway, I was gonna go out. Did you need anything...?"

Shawn sighed, sitting up on her bed and setting aside the folder. "Uh, yeah. I need to ask you something. It's important, and I need your full attention here."

Maya cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed. Shawn was being awfully serious, something he rarely ever did. And...was he nervous? "Okay, you have my attention. What's up?"

Shawn breathed in, then slowly breathed out. Maya was starting to get a little worried. "I want to ask your mother to marry me."

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped. "What?"

"I want to ask Katie to marry me, and I wanted to run it by you --" But he didn't finish his sentence because Maya had crossed the room and had buried Shawn in a hug, a big smile on her face.

"Of course you can marry her! You don't need my permission!" Maya had known that this was coming. She had been positive about it for years now. Shawn and her mother had started dating when she was thirteen, and had been together for years now. She was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

Oh, her mother was going to be so happy.

Shawn laughed, patting Maya's back as she slowly released him, "Well, I'm happy to hear it, kid."

"Did you buy the ring?"

He smiled and took it out of his back pocket. He opened it to reveal s simple ring that screamed elegance with it's single diamond in the middle. It was beautiful. "What do you think?"

"Mom is going to love it. When are you planning on asking her?"

"That I haven't figured out yet," he sighed, putting the ring back in his pocket. "Hopefully soon. I'll let you in on the plan when i figure it out, don't worry."

"I am so happy for you guys. This is...this is great." She smiled, the biggest and most genuine smile she had smiled in days.

Shawn smiled and ruffled Maya's hair. "I'm happy, too." And she could really see it -- he was happy. It was a wonderful thing to see, happiness.

If this was the look Riley wore when Lucas asked her out, if this was the look she wore after they'd been on their date, how could she ever ben upset? Be angry? She just wanted everyone to be happy.

"All right, I need to get some work done, and apparently you need to be somewhere. I'll talk to you later?" Shawn said as he got up to leave.

"See ya."


	6. Maya: pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part 2 of the maya chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! In other news, I thought I would share the playlist i made for the fic. It's simply one for inspiration, and might even give you guys a little sneak peek/idea of what might happen in the future. If you don't want any spoilers at all, then maybe don't listen to it. If you don't care, I hope you like it! I'll probably just keep adding songs as I go along: 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/lali_2195/playlist/6hp3HcWh9QH63GQQdLyGYW

The Underground was one of Maya's favorite places in the city. She came upon it in her freshman year, walking home from school after staying a few hours later to focus on a art project. Call it what you might -- fate, kismet, chance, the universe conspiring to help her out -- but Maya dropped her art bag right in front of the entrance, and when she looked up, a girl by the name of Alia was walking out. She had knelt down to help her pick her stuff up, and when she noticed the art supplies, Alia had smiled and asked,

"You like art?"

"Love it. It's my life."

Alia's smile had grown. "You should come in."

It was the most unique and amazing and secret place in the entire city. It was the secret that had intrigued her, of all things. The story went that ten years ago, a few students from NYU found an abandoned subway station in a quieter part of the city, and when the realized the only people in there were the homeless, they began to do their art there. It was graffiti at first, but when a good chunk of the walls were covered, it was a hang out. People came to work on their art down there, and slowly other types of artists came too: dancers, musicians, and even some writers who were able to work with the noise. The abandoned area became a hub for inspiration, a place for the creative mind to go wild.

But it got to slowly become crowded, so the students who had initially founded the subway -- at that point dubbed The Underground -- decided to set up a password and a membership program of sorts. People paid only some money a month, gave the password, and they could come and go as much as they wanted.

Now, ten years later, the Underground is run by only two of the original students -- a married couple -- who simply make things a little orderly so nothing goes too crazy. It was, honestly, a home away from home for Maya. When she was lost on a piece, when she needed to clear her mind, when she just needed to have a good time -- she came to The Underground.

She sat on one of the many couches now, sketching away in her journal as Alia sat next her, flipping through some photos she'd printed earlier in the day. Her head was down, but she would occasionally look up to Zay, on the other side of the Underground, and sketch a line here or there. This time, he caught her her eye and waved.

"You drawing Zay?" Alia asked.

"Yeah," she said, he hand sweeping across the page. "I wasn't sure what else to draw and he was the first thing I saw when I sat down so." She shrugged.

In her group of friends, Zay was the only one who knew about the Underground and about her consistent visits, and that was only because he came here as much as she did. Jack, his crew leader, had started bringing the crew to the Underground a year ago, and that was when the two had run into each other there. It was also the night she learned Zay's secret. The two didn;t like hiding the Underground from their friends, but they loved and respected the place too much to break its tradition.

Alia sighed, stretching her arms over her head. "I feel like it's just one of those days. Nothing seems to be working for me. I need to look at these pictures in a different light or something."

"What are you girls complaining about?" The two turned around in time to see Eloise plop down on the couch beside Maya, her sketch book bouncing in her lap. Eloise and Alia were Maya's closest friends in the Underground. Eloise was in her senior year in college, while Alia a freshman.

"Lack of inspiration," Maya replied as she finished off her sketch of Zay.

"The point of this place is to find inspiration, loves," Eloise easily responded, her accent as there as it was the first day Maya had met her. It was amazing that despite almost four years living in New York, Eloise had not been able to drop her British accent.

"Well, like I said, smart ass, it's one of those days," Alia said with a roll of her eyes.

Eloise laughed, putting a lock of pink hair behind her ear. "It'll come back at some point. Truth be told, I'm just not feeling anything today either." She opened her sketch book to an image of a boy: he had hair that grazed his shoulders, a decent scruff, a beanie, and a smirk that made him look that much more attractive.

"Who's that?" Maya pointed to the sketch.

"Someone from my past -- someone I somehow ran into today." Maya raised an eyebrow. Alia rolled her eyes again. "An ex. Don't worry about it, though."

"We're not," Maya and Alia said at the same time. They smiled and fist bumped.

"Whoa, who's that?" Maya and Eloise followed Alia's gaze to boy leaning against the food stand, talking to Stanley and Mary -- the one's who ran the Underground. He was, simply put, hot. He had wavy dark brown hair that crawled on his neck, a smile -- or smirk? -- that lit up his face, a leather jacket that made his form that much more appealing, and to top it all off, guitar strapped backwards on his back.

"I believe his name is Hunter something. I've seen him here a few times -- apparently he just moved here from Chicago. I think he's a senior at your school, Maya."

Maya took her eyes off from him to look at Eloise and Alia, bother raising their eyebrow at her. "Well, we'll find out, won't we?"

"You're into him, aren't you?" Alia said with a smirk, poking Maya where it made her flinch away.

"He's not hideous," Maya smiled, looking back in the boy's -- Hunter's -- direction. This time, he caught her eye, and smiled. Damn, Maya thought.

But she shook her head. Maybe this wasn't the time for boys. After all, she'd gone all of high school without dating. It wasn't that she couldn't -- or that she hadn't had a crush on another boy after Lucas -- but it was all too complicated. After that stupid triangle with her two close friends, she had made the executive decision not to date in high school. Things always got complicated, and sometimes felt to high intensity. They were young, after all. She had a lot of time for dating around.

But that also didn't mean this Hunter guy wasn't nice to look at.

Maya felt a buzz in her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Right, I gotta go. I have dinner with Riley tonight."

"Riley. Don't you think it's weird that we have known each other for, what, three years, and we've never met your friends?" Eloise asked.

Maya looked at Eloise, and blinked. What Riley knew about the Underground was limited. Farkle and Lucas knew absolutely nothing because Maya had asked to not talk about it, but Riley was just aware there was a place that Maya went to go do her art. It was that simple. And because of the rules, her friends at the Underground had somehow just been kept separate from her group at school. Alia, of course, knew of them, as she had gone to the same high school as her and had been a year ahead of her. But that was it.

She couldn't help but wonder if Riley not really knowing where she was going made Riley uncomfortable. But at the end of the day, just because they were best friends didn't mean they had to be attached to the hip. Maya had learned soon after entering high school that even though she loved her best friend with all her heart, and all her friends, really -- they were all different people who had different dreams to chase. The only way they had all stayed friends was because they encouraged each other to explore everything they were interested in -- even if that meant they weren't.

That was what being friends meant, after all: being there no matter, supporting no matter what.

Maya supposed it was practice for when they went off to college next year. Because no matter what happened, no matter how far they were from each other, they would all still be there. They had to be.

"I guess. But I don't really see you guys outside of here, do I?" Maya shrugged. "I'll see you guys later."

"Goodbye, love."

"Bye-ee."

With another glance towards the food stand -- Hunter was walking away, towards the stage, a few guys already there -- Maya headed to her best friend's house.


	7. Riley

The date had gone well. In fact, it had almost been magical.

Riley wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Part of her had wanted to not enjoy it at all. TO realize that she and Lucas were better off at friends, that this whole thing was a bad idea. All so she could stop feeling the way she was feeling: guilty.

She knew she was being ridiculous. Lucas had asked her out a week ago, the date had happened two nights ago, and nothing had changed. Maya was just the same, her group of friends was just the same. She could read Maya better than anyone in the world -- even more than herself sometimes -- and she wasn't getting anything from her. Maya was all smiles -- genuine smiles -- but she also knew that Maya would never step in if she knew Riley was happy.

And, oh, was she happy.

So, if anything, nothing had changed yet.

"I'm overthinking this," Riley muttered to herself, falling against her bed.

"Riley! I want you to have time to eat this morning!" Topanga walked through the open door of her room, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you doing? You need to leave for school in half an hour."

"Thinking. Overthinking." Riley sighed, closing her eyes instead of getting up from her bed.

"And what are you thinking about, exactly?" Riley felt her mother shift and settle down on her bed, laying next to her.

"The date."

"Ah."

There was a pause, a moment of quiet, before Riley spoke. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. This almost broke us the last time."

She shifted to look at her mother. Topanga sighed, a smile on her face. "Then don't let it. Don't let it hurt anyone, Riley."

"But how?" Riley exclaimed. "How do I make sure no one gets hurt? You know how Maya felt about him--"

"Did you like your date, Riley?" Topanga cut in.

Riley closed her eyes again and let out a breath. "Yes."

"Do you want to continue going on dates with Lucas?"

"Yes." Oh, yes, yes, yes.

"Then things will work out. Maya is a strong girl -- you know better than I do. If she is hurting, she won't let it show because more than anyone, she loves you, Riley." Topanga got up, giving her daughter's thigh a quick pat. "And who knows, maybe she'll find someone herself. Don't underestimate that girl. Either way, just let things happen. Let life take it's course. Now get up and get food in your system before I shove it down." With quirky smile, her mother exited the room, and a moment later, Riley sighed and followed.

* * * * 

"Are you avoiding me?" Riley jumped, smacking her hand against the door of her locker. Leaning against the lockers to her left.

"You scared me!" Riley said, shoving her History book into her locker.

"You didn't answer my question."

Riley closed her locker and let out a breath. "Of course no--"

"Don't you dare lie to me, Matthews. You know your the worst liar in all of New York City." She was standing close now, narrowing her eyes at Riley.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I just--I didn't--" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Riley, listen to me and listen to me good." She paused. "I am not letting a boy ruin this friendship, you hear? You going on a date with Lucas is not something that bothers me and I definitely don't want it to be something that gets between us."

Riley just looked at her friend. "Am I overthinking all this then?"

"You mean are you worrying to much about my feelings? Yes, yes you are, peaches. So please stop because it's useless. I'm not bothered by this -- seriously."

Riley wasn't sure how convinced she was, but she decided she was going to listen to her mother: she had had a really good time on that date. She was allowed this. This wouldn't hurt or ruin anything. She wouldn't let it. And Maya definitely wouldn't let it. "Okay. Okay, you're right. So tell me, how was your weekend?"

Maya shook her head, beginning to walk to their next class together: they had Chemistry. "Well, since you strategically only made small talk with me over the weekend--" she gave her a pointed look, which Riley smiled sheepishly at. "It was okay. i spent it doing art stuff."

"Of course. I bet you made something beautiful and inspirational, as you always do."

"Mhm," Maya nodded. "Now please, tell me about this date. And not the simple 'it was good' that you gave me over the phone. I want details. What did Huckleberry do for you?"

Riley smiled. Despite the fact that Maya could have barged into her room and demanded details, she had stayed away when she knew Riley didn't want to say anything. She had been giving Riley space, letting her figure this out before demanding details. It was different than when they were in middle school. They would simply ask the questions until the other gave in. But as they had gotten older, they had learned that sometimes, demanding answers to questions or sharing feelings right away wasn't the answer. Sometimes, they needed time to figure out their feelings and thoughts and emotions before they could share them.

They had learned, simply, that sometimes they needed to be a person before they could be a unit. It was a good lesson, one her father (of course) and shared with them. Part of being 'the best best friends ever' was being able to be their own person before being a part of a relationship like this one. And this applied to everything in life.

"It was wonderful, Maya!" Riley exclaimed, doing a small twirl in the middle of the hallway, which earned her a few glares. Maya simply glared back until the walked away. "He took me to dinner in a restaurant near Central Park and then we went for a walk and then he dropped me off at home and --" Riley looked at Maya, who only gave her an expectant look. "He kissed me."

A slow smile formed on Maya's face as they walked down the hallway. "Not bad, Ranger Rick. Not bad. It's very...you."

"You think so?"

"Definitely." They finally reached their classroom, pausing outside the door. "So here's my question: do you wanna go on another date?"

There was a challenge in Maya's smile, as if daring her to say no. Maya was right -- she could Riley better than anyone, knew her better than anyone. She knew her answer without even saying it. "Yes, I do."

"You do what?" Both girls turned to face Lucas standing nest to them, his backpack slung over on shoulder, his hand in his pocket, his other hand holding a chemistry textbook.

Was it just her or did Lucas look more good looking than he had last week?

"Nothing," Maya said easily. "Apparently you did a decent job, Huckleberry. I'm impressed."

Lucas smiled. "Thanks, but it wasn't you I was trying to impress." His eyes easily glided to meet Riley's, and Riley felt her face flush.

Maya smirked. "Smooth." She just shook her head and walked into class.

Lucas took a step closer to Riley, and it took all Riley had to relax her heart beat. This had never happened with Lucas before -- not since middle school. But then again, she had built a barrier around her heart when it came to all things Lucas.

"You never told me what you thought of our date," he said a little quietly.

Riley smiled, tilting her head. "I thought my kiss translated quite a bit." If there was one thing Riley had learned in the past few years, it was a decent way of flirting.

The just looked at each other until they heard someone clear their throat beside them. Zay stood beside them, swaying on his feet, a coy smile on his face. "Class starts in a minute, lovebirds. Get a move on."

Lucas rolled his eyes and Riley gave a small shy smile, and walked into class. Like any science classroom, the class was divided into two rows of long tables that sat two people. On the first day of class, the teacher had let them choose their science partners, not really caring who sat with who. Riley and Lucas and decided to be partners, while Zay and Maya paired off. Riley had thought that being with Zay would have meant less talking and more working for Maya, but at the end of the first week, the two had been talking so much and goofing off in class enough that the teacher decided to split them up: Maya in the front and Zay in the back.

Now Zay was partnered with a sophomore girl that, from Riley could tell, had a major crush on him. Maya, on the other hand, was partner-less. Apparently her partner had dropped the class.

The bell rang, and Riley rushed to her seat as the teacher walked in. "All right, everyone settle down. We have a lot to do today."

"Only a week in and we have a lot to do," Lucas murmured under his breath and Riley nudged him a little to shut him up. She didn't have a prefect grade point average by not listening to the teacher.

"It'll be fun, I promise. You'll all get to blow some things up." Maya's head shot up, and the teacher smiled. "Yes, Ms. Hart, I knew this would peak your interest."

It was amazing how in one week, Mr. Cecile had gotten a good idea of what Maya found to be interesting in class. But then again, he had been Maya's partner for the past week when the other student dropped the class. Either way, Riley was impressed.

"Okay, everyone take out their journals and turn to page 40. I want you to read the section and take notes before we dive in -- "

Mr. Cecile was suddenly interrupted by the door opening by a boy who stood with only a messenger bad hanging from his shoulder and a chemistry book in hand. He smiled -- or more smirked, Riley couldn't tell -- at the teacher. "Sorry I'm late. New school and all."

There was no embarrassment about being late or admitting that he was new. He casually -- almost confidently -- walked into the classroom, standing new Mr. Cecile. It almost reminded her of Maya, which made her turn to look at her. But instead of Maya looking back at her as she usually would when something relatively interesting happened, her eyes were glued to the boy, hand frozen over her notebook, pen limp in her hand.

Interesting, she thought.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Hunter Molinaro, yes?" The boy -- Hunter -- nodded and Mr. Cecile marked something in his notebook, where she assumed he kept his attendance sheet. "It's no problem you're late today Mr. Molinaro, but please be sure to be on time next class." He smiled, letting Hunter know he got a pass. "Lucky for you, Ms. Hart here is partnerless, so you can take the seat beside her."

Hunter's eyes moved from the teacher to Maya -- who was still looking at him -- and something crossed his face. His smile/smirk widened and, from what she could tell, recognition flashed in his eyes. Riley looked from Maya and Hunter as he moved to sit beside her, and....

Well, she didn't know what to think. It seemed liked they knew each other.

Huh.

"Do they...know each other?" Lucas whisper-asked her. Riley looked at him and saw he was observing what she was.

"I don't know. Seems like it."

Riley turned back to look at Zay, and he was smiling.

* * * * 

"Who was that? You knew him didn't you?"

Riley and the rest of the gang were sitting in the Courtyard for lunch, gathered around a bench. After Chemistry everyone had been all over the place, cleaning up their labs and trying to get to their next class, that Riley hadn't had the chance to ask Maya how she knew Hunter. Because she definitely knew Hunter. The way he smirked at her...well, she simply need to know more.

"Who was who?" Farkle asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Maya got a new chemistry partner today. Named Hunter," Zay smirked. Maya nudged. "Ow!"

"A new partner?" Now it was Farkle's turn to smile, an amused one if anything.

"What are you guys doing? Stop." Maya rolled her eyes, crunching on her chips.

"So do you know him?" Lucas asked, asking Maya in all seriousness.

She sighed. "Yeah. I ran into him this past weekend at a...thing."

Lucas and Farkle furrowed their brows while Zay simply nodded. 'A thing'. Maya had mentioned a place she went to do her art. Riley didn't know much beyond that, just that it was some big secret and she couldn't talk about it without breaking some rule.

"So it's like Fight Club?" Riley had asked, confused when Maya had tried to explain without really explaining.

"Yeah, basically."

So, Riley assumed the thing must have been the Special Art Place, as she had coined it over the years. This was getting more interesting.

Maya sighed again. "It wasn't anything, really. I just saw him, we made eye contact, that was it. He recognized me and I recognized him. Stop reading into it," she said more pointedly at Riley.

"You met a guy at a thing and you don't think we should read into it?" Lucas asked, a little more playfully.

"I meet you shitbags at things all the time. We don't read into that, do we?" Maya replied.

"Oh-kay," Zay sang, and Maya nudged him again. "Ow! What the fuck, Maya, that hurts!"

"Guys, seriously, he's not that interesting. And when was the last time I dated a guy?" She looked around the table, and this time, Brooke replied:

"Never."

"Thank you, Brooke. Now shut up and let me eat."

"I wasn't suggesting you liked him. I was just surprised you knew the new guy," Riley said, which was true. Riley had asked Maya long ago about dating, and she had been pretty clear about her stance on it: she didn't want to do it in high school. Riley was never completely sure why, but she had a small inkling that it had to do with their triangle in middle school. "Where's he from, anyway?"

"Chicago," both Maya and Broke said at once. Farkle looked at Brooke, eyebrows raised.

Brooke simply shrugged. "We have English together. We had mini group discussions and he was in mine."

"Wonder why he moved here. Must be hard, moving your senior year of high school to a different city," Lucas commented, looking again at Maya.

The others nodded while Maya shrugged. "I didn't ask him his life story, Ranger Rick. Past intros we just did the lab."

"I was just wondering," he said a little defensively.

The table fell quiet for a few moments after that, until Farkle brought up something about a new show on Netflix, and everyone broke into smaller discussions. Zay and Lucas, Brooke and Farkle, Maya and her. Lucas looked over at Farkle for only a moment, and Riley only frowned a little at that. She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she could feel something was off between her two friends (was Lucas even called that now?).

Maya noticed her frown and only tilted her head, nodding her head as if to ask "What's wrong?"

Riley nodded from Lucas to Farkle discreetly, saying "Something's wrong with these two."

Maya only nodded, agreeing. She took out her phone then, and Riley she was texting her.

[text]: wtf is going on with these two?

Riley texted back:

[text]: idk but hopefully it'll be fixed soon?

Riley looked questioningly at Maya, and Maya responded

[text]: hopefully. we shouldn't get in between it though maybe? i dont want to make anything worse, which we sometimes do when we...meddle.

Riley couldn't help but smile at that. They were meddlers, as her father was always saying ("Funny, seeing as you get it from him," her mother would always say). She responded:

[text]: maybe not until we have too.

Maya smiled in response, and put her phone away. They began talking about plans for later, and eventually the signal bell rang, letting them not the next period would be starting soon. So many things were happening, some good, some bad, and Riley just hoped that whatever was coming this year wouldn't end badly.

But maybe she was just overthinking again.


	8. Farkle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here I am, posting a million weeks later. I am trying to do the weekly thing, but with school now in session, it's much harder to post. But I'll sitill try my best to post weekly! Sometimes they will be later -- just keep that in mind. Thank you for understanding! ~

Something was wrong. Farkle couldn't quite place it, couldn't quite name it, but he knew something was wrong. His eyes glancing over the now empty Courtyard, he couldn't quite get the strange, sinking feeling in his stomach out. It was like an endlessly growing pit, a sensation that screamed at him, but screamed in a non coherent language. It was a unnameable dread, an ever growing feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was a feeling he'd had once before -- right before Isadora had told him she was leaving the States -- and he knew that what he was feeling now, this terrible pit, meant something bad was going to happen. 

 

Running a hand over his tired face and trying to focus on the AP World History textbook in front of him, Farkle reminded himself that this strange, premonition-like feeling wasn't real. He had tried explaining it to Maya once, and she only laughed at him. "You're being, crazy, Minkus. Like, what? You're a psychic or something?"

 

But he wasn't a psychic. Of course he wasn't -- if anyone _didn't_ believe in psychics, it was Farkle -- but it was a gut feeling that didn't seem to prove wrong. Well, at least it hadn't the first and only time he had had it. Whatever the hell it was, Farkle couldn't shake it, and it seemed to only be getting worse each day.

 

"Focus, Farkle. Get the reading done," he murmured to himself, forcing himself to read about ancient China. "Fuck the feeling."

 

"What're you mumbling, dude?" Farkle jumped, surprised by the sudden voice appearing in the form of a boy standing in front of his table. It was the new guy, Hunter, who had shown up only a couple of weeks ago.

 

"Nothing," Farkle replied, turning back to his book. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. Better to get the work done and go on to the next subject's work.

 

"Right," Hunter smiled. "Mind if I take this seat?"

 

Farkle looked at him, then let his gaze wander the empty Courtyard. Every other table was empty, and yet the guy wanted to sit with him, asking as if his table was the only relatively empty one. 

 

  
_Get a grip, Farkle. The guy is trying to make a friend, maybe,_ he thought. 

 

With a sigh, Farkle nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

 

Hunter's smile widened. "Thanks." He sat down, putting his messenger bag on the table and pulling out a old, ratted-looking journal. "So you always stick around after school in the empty Courtyard?" 

 

So much for reading. "Not always. Just on Mondays and Fridays. It's the days Brooke -- my girlfriend -- and I like to go out for coffee and get some work done together. So I sometimes just wait here after school. The weather's nice so I thought I'd sit out here." Farkle shrugged, the pit in his stomach slightly easing. Maybe this was good, talking to someone else. He needed to get his mind off....well, whatever it was that was bothering him. 

 

"Ah, that's nice." 

 

Farkle gave him a moment to reply in kind, but when he didn't, he sighed again. "And you? You only just got here maybe two, three weeks ago -- what's your reasoning for being here after school on a Friday?" Farkle didn't want to say it, but from what he'd gathered -- observed even -- about the new guy in the past few weeks, he seemed like the kind of person who had plans all the time. Plans that didn't quite involve spending extra time at school. 

 

"So you noticed me, eh?" Farkle gave a sheepish smile, and Hunter responded with a grin. "I saw the Courtyard the first day. It's cool -- a nice place for students to chill. But it's --- well it's beautiful, ya know?" Farkle knew. The school had really done well with the place. Flowers blooming on the borders of the Courtyard, bushes trimmed into students and the mascot, and big, towering trees all scattered with tables and benches made of stone for the students. And now, in the quiet, it gave a strange, hauntingly gorgeous atmosphere. It's why he liked to come here after school on Fridays: it gave him some room to think. "I wanted to know, though, what it felt like without the rush of students. I like finding the quiet spaces. I like seeing what something looks like -- what something _feels_ like -- when you strip away all the noise. It makes it something else."

 

Farkle arched an eyebrow. "You like finding the quiet places?" he repeated, not quite able to keep the surprise out of his tone. Everything about the boy sitting in front of him -- the hair that brushed his shoulders, the Arctic Monkeys t-shirt, the ripped jeans, the tattered sneakers, the tattoo that sat on his forearm -- screamed he liked noise. 

 

"It always surprises people." Hunter leaned in, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Let me tell you something, Farkle Minkus. It's a bit of advice that might help you: not everyone is what they seem. Their outside can be very, very deceiving, and you'll always be safer realizing that anyone is capable of doing anything."

 

Farkle tilted his head, his eyebrows scrunching while Hunter leaned away with a quick wink. Of course he knew that. High school was all about that: making snap judgements about a person just by glancing them. But Farkle had not made a snap judgement: he didn't do that. If he didn't want someone making such a quick judgement about him, why would he do so for another? Yes, Farkle had observed his dress and his attitude, but he'd observed more than that. He was an aspiring scientist, after all, and being a scientist was all about the observations and studies one made. 

 

Not that he made a habit of observing his peers, but he _did_  make a habit of observing those he thought were getting close to his friends. Farkle wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he'd caught Hunter looking at Maya from a distance once or twice. He'd even caught Maya looking. But more than that, he'd noticed something else...a strange familiarity, as if the two of them maybe knew each other. Not from the the daily run-ins at school, or the partnered science work they did together in class. No, it was as if they knew something _more_  about each other, a shared secret that only danced between them, a knowing smile that Farkle knew meant that somehow, someway, Hunter and Maya were familiar with each other from somewhere other than high school. 

 

It made him a little uneasy, but only because he had a strange habit of needing to make sure his friends were okay. Hearts are a fragile human concept, a concept that tends to bring joy and love and an undeniable attachment to another human being. But it also bring pain and tears and heartache. Of all his friends, Farkle easily knew that Maya had the most fragile heart, one that she kept so caged up that it could only be viewed if she unlocked it for you. And because it was so fragile, because she protected it with every fiber in her being, Farkle felt he needed to protect it too. Because if Maya was scared of someone hurting her, he was down right terrified. 

 

Maya is one of his best friends. It's his job to make sure that no one breaks his best friends' hearts -- especially her's. All this -- the shared glances and the sneak a peek when the other wasn't looking -- could mean nothing, but Farkle wasn't one to just take a repeated observation as _nothing._  


"I'll keep that in mind," Farkle replied, nodding. He pointed to the journal that Hunter was now writing in. "What is that? I never see you without it."

 

"You're an observant one, aren't?" Hunter laughed, shaking his head. "It's my song book. I write lyrics in it. But don't ask me to show it to you, because then I'll have to say no, and I don't want to turn you off from being my friend in the first five minutes of talking to me. But if it makes you feel any better, I don't show it to anyone until the final product is done."

 

Farkle smiled. So he did want to make a friend. So far, Farkle wasn't quite opposed to the idea. Whoever Hunter Molinaro  was, he was sufficiently intrigued. "I won't. But that's pretty cool. You're a songwriter, then?"

 

"Songwriter. Singer. Guitarist in a band." Hunter shrugged. "I love music. I love lyrics. I love creating songs that are all my own. It's always been my thing."

 

"We've all got them. Mine's learning. I love school, I love books, I like expanding my horizons and learning new topics and become as educated in them as possible."

 

"From what I hear, you only want to be the best."

 

Farkle chuckled. "Well, what you hear is wrong. I don't want be _the_  best. I want to be _my_ best. There's a stark difference in the two." 

 

"Touche, man. Touche." 

 

A comfortable quiet settled upon the two after that, Hunter writing in his journal, occasionally humming under his breath, while Farkle read his chapter for class. They went on like that for nearly 45 minutes, when Farkle's phone buzzed and interrupted the silence:

 

[text:Brooke] : hey. fccla meeting tired me out. i think i'm gonna skip the work date and just head home. unwind with some tv and food. i'll see you tomorrow. 

 

The endlessly growing pit -- the one that Hunter had somehow managed to help ease from Farkle without him quite realizing -- suddenly came back. It was just a text. Why this text brought about some weird feeling in his stomach, he didn't know. Maybe he was just feeling sick. Maybe it was something he ate at lunch. Maybe it was stress from all the college things he was doing. 

 

It was just a text. 

 

She had cancelled before. 

 

  
_But she's been cancelling a lot more lately,_ he couldn't help thinking. 

 

"Hey, you okay, Farkle?" 

 

Farkle's eyes flicked from the screen he now realized he'd been staring at for too long to a worried looking Hunter. "Yeah," he said quickly, shoving the phone into his pocket. "Yeah, I'm fine."

 

"You don't look fine."

 

"I'm fine," Farkle responded a little too sharply. Hunter raised an eyebrow, and Farkle sighed. He was suddenly taken by a strong urge to be alone. He _had_  to be alone. "I need to go," he said a little softly, and quickly got up. But he still paused, calming himself long enough to say, "It was nice talking to you, though. Hope to do it again."

 

Hunter smiled, nodding. "Yeah, same man." 

 

Farkle turned and left. His pit was growing again, but at least one good thing had come out of his afternoon. 

 

 


	9. Lucas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello darlings! so here is the next installment of the story. it's not my best written chapter, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless! :) 
> 
> thank you to all those who have been reading, leaving comments, kudos-ing, etc. it really means a lot to me <3

_Clickty-click._

_Clickty-click._

_Clickty-click._

Lucas's pen clicked on and off, his leg bouncing incessantly, as he attempted to brainstorm an outline for his English paper. He'd been staring at the page filled with dashed and crossed off words for nearly two hours now with no avail. To say he was distracted would be an understatement on the particular Saturday afternoon. But he really couldn't blamed for his lack of work. 

 

No, it was his _parents_ who were causing his lack of work. 

 

"I don't fucking _care_ , Jonathan! Who the hell _is she_?!"

 

"She's my _assistant_ , Joan! There's nothing going on! Why the hell do you always thinking something is going on?!"

 

"Maybe because there's something always going on! Do I need to remind you of Rosanne?"

 

"Joan, I told you, it was one night -- "

 

"I can't believe you -- "

 

"I'm trying to fix this, but how is this supposed to work if you won't even _try_  to trust me?" 

 

Lucas wondered if they even realized he was home. Neither of his parents had come to talk to him about the obvious problems they are having, and neither of them had bothered to mention the affair his father had had with some woman from work. He wondered if they ever would, or if they realized he actually knew what was going on. In fact, he was sure he knew more.

 

Two nights ago, when he snuck home after a late night visit to Riley's apartment (one she had seriously scolded him for, but he had been feeling a little rebellious -- he was sure Maya would have been proud), he had accidentally walked in on his mother with another man. Lucky for him, she hadn't seen him and Lucas, pissed off, had left the house again and stayed at Zay's. 

 

Yeah, he was sure his parents had either forgotten his mere existence or were just stupid enough to think he didn't notice what was going on with them because they were able to sit still during their dinners. 

 

Lucas suddenly heard something crash downstairs, and no longer being able to stand the noise, slammed his pen on the table. It shook a little, the force of his fist too much, and he got up, grabbing his jacket and stomping down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he could hear his parents still arguing, the noise carrying from the kitchen on his left side. He could so easily go in there, grab something -- anything -- and walk out so they could remember that their son _did_  live with them. Yell at both of them the way they had, throw something they way they had, to make a point. To say that he could hear everything they said and all this need to pretend was a bunch of shit.  

 

But just when he was considering the idea, he felt a buzz in his pocket. 

 

  
**[text:Riley] :** hey ! wanna meet at the cafe? maya'll be there too. we can get some work done too. 

 

Lucas closed his eyes and exhaled a slow breath, blocking out the argument coming from the kitchen. He just needed to get out of the house, he just needed to get away from the yelling and the arguing that was becoming a terrible constant in his life. 

 

A distraction -- one as good as Riley -- was enough for him. 

 

  
**[text] :** sure, be there soon 


	10. Lucas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it has been much too long since i have updated !! School and life got in the way, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and try to update a little more regularly (and with the show ending and all, I figured continuing now is the best time to do so). 
> 
> This next chapter was meant to be a different character, but I was just going over it and realized the whole chapter didn't even post ??? anyway, I figured I would just post the rest of the chapter as a new chapter, so I hope you all enjoy !!

When Lucas arrived at Topanga's, he spotted his friends (or rather, his friend and his...potential girlfriend) sitting in the far corner, away from the door. Riley was reading something on her laptop while Maya worked in his sketchbook, headphones in. She bobbed her head to whatever music she listened, but he could tell she was also listening to whatever Riley was reading aloud. Maya was always pretty good at the multitasking thing. 

 

"Hey," he greeted, taking one of the empty seats at the small table, dropping his bag in the chair beside him. 

 

"Hey," Riley smiled, looking away from the screen. "That was quick."

 

"Yeah, I was leaving the house when you texted so," he shrugged. He still hadn't told anyone beside Zay what was going on at him. Not only was the whole thing embarrassing for him, saying it aloud to more people felt -- no matter how ridiculous it sounded -- like it would make the problem more _real._ "What are you guys working on?" 

 

"We're _supposed_ to be working on studying for an AP Psych exam but Maya is too focused on her art," Riley said pointedly. 

 

"I've been responding to every vocab word you threw my way," Maya said defensively. "If all you're gonna do is quiz me, I might as well do some drawing while I'm at it." 

 

"Yeah, but you only got three out of the twenty right, Maya."

 

Maya just shrugged and continued to draw. Riley let out a sigh. "How about we take a break? After all, Huckleberry just got here. I'm sure you two wanna get all gross and gushy right about now, don't you?" Maya smirked, and Riley blushed only a little, which Lucas couldn't help but find to be adorable. 

 

"Honestly, I wouldn't mind a break. I haven't been in the right mindset for work anyway." Lucas threw his pen on the table and leaned back in his chair, arms crossing behind his head. "What're you drawing?"

 

"A picture of Farkle's dick. I thought it would look nice next to my Monet," Maya responded without looking up from her sketchbook. 

 

"Maya!" Riley exclaimed in a shrill tone, causing Lucas to double over in laughter. 

 

Maya grinned. "Chill, it was a joke. Obviously I'm drawing _Zay's_ dick." 

 

Lucas started to laugh again, but with one look from Riley tried -- and failed -- to stop. She narrowed her eyes, then smiled, turning back to Maya and leaning her elbows in closer. "I'm just surprised it's Zay's. I imagined you'd be busy drawing Hunter's private parts." 

 

Maya's pencil stopped moving, her eyes flicking to Riley's now smiling face. Lucas had stopped laughing, too, the thought of Maya drawing some guy's dick a little uncomfortable. 

 

_Why the hell do you care? If she can draw Zay's cock, she can draw Hunter's._

Not that she was drawing any actual penises anyway. Lucas shook his head, unsure of where his brain was going. 

 

"Maybe I -- " Maya suddenly let out a groan. "Oh, what the fuck -- what is _he_  doing here?" 

 

Lucas turned his head to see Hunter walking in their general direction, texting someone on his phone. "I don't get it. Do we not like him...?"

 

"No, we love him," Riley replied with a smile just as Hunter approached the table. "Hello, Hunter. How are you?"

 

"I"m good, thanks for asking." He nodded to the empty chair between between Maya and Lucas. "That taken?"

 

"Yes," Maya said. 

 

" _No_ ," Riley said with a pointed look at Maya. "It's not taken. Please, sit!" 

 

"I will, thank you very much," Hunter replied with a smirk, sliding into the chair. His eyes jerked to blonde beside him. "Maya."

 

"Hunter," she said in greeting, turning back to her sketchbook. Her face showed nonchalance, but Lucas could see her body tense up just the tiniest bit next to Hunter. 

 

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

Lucas glanced at Riley, but she was looking between Hunter and Maya with attentive eyes, her smile unwavering. She seemed....excited for some reason. Was there something going on between Hunter and Maya? He'd of course noticed the endless flirting and attempts at talking with Maya on Hunter's end, and Maya had responded here and there too, but...well, he hadn't really made anything of it. 

 

_So what if something's going on between them? Good for her._

"So, what's up, Hunter? How are you settling into New York?" Riley asked, seeing as no one else was doing much talking.

 

"I'm settling well. New York City isn't too different from Chicago, honestly. There's definitely a different vibe, and I'd say there are a few more... _attractive_ things here." His eyes went back to Maya's with a grin, and when she didn't look up again, he winked at Riley. She only smiled back in kind. "Anyway, I'm actually supposed to be meeting Farkle here. We're getting some coffee and then catching a movie."

 

"Farkle?" Lucas asked, a little taken aback. Farkle still refused to speak with him, but now he was suddenly buddy-buddy with the new guy? Lucas knew what he did upset Farkle, but it had been _weeks_ since Lucas asked Riley out, and everything has been fine since. Maya isn't upset and their group hasn't broken up. If anything, it was the two of them that were screwed up, and if Farkle wanted to keep the group together, it would start with talking to Lucas again. 

 

Lucas could feel Riley looking at him, and when he met her gaze, her expression only read sympathy. She didn't really know what was going on with Farkle and Lucas -- he hadn't wanted to go into detail about it and she, fortunately, hadn't pushed him -- but she knew enough that Lucas was hurting. But, of course, he couldn't admit that to Farkle. It was hard to when the guy wouldn't even properly talk to him unless it was something that _had_ to be said. 

 

"Yeah, man. Hey, you guys wanna come?"

 

"Can't," Maya said, suddenly closing her sketchbook and getting up. "I got somewhere to be."

 

"Do you now?" Hunter mused, looking at her with an arched eyebrow. 

 

"Yeah, I do. Riley, we can finish studying tomorrow. The stupid test isn't until Wednesday, anyway." She began to walk towards the door, but turned only slightly to say, "I'll see you around" to Hunter and a quick wave at Lucas. 

 

Lucas looked at Hunter who seemed to practically be beaming from the small amount of affection. There was definitely something going on, and for some reason it made him uneasy. He couldn't quite put a finger on why, but it did. It wasn't even that he didn't like Hunter. The guy was genuinely nice to everyone he spoke to, and he seemed to always talk to everyone with interest and care. In fact, the other day the two had talked nearly the entire lunch period about baseball and the different school teams. Hunter was a boy he got along with decently.  

 

_You're being weird, Friar. Chill out._

"What about you guys?" Hunter asked, peeling his eyes away from Maya as she exited the cafe. 

 

"Sure! I finished up all my work already anyway. I was just helping Maya study."

 

"Lucas?"

 

"Uh," Lucas swallowed. It would have been great to go. Anything to avoid going home and having to deal with his parents would be wonderful. But Farkle would be there, and as much as he would just like to have it out with Farkle, he really didn't understand what was going through his friend's head. He didn't want to upset him anymore than he already was with Lucas. "I actually have to meet with Zay soon. Maybe some other time?" 

 

"Sure, man. Definitely." 

 

Lucas smiled and grabbed his stuff. "I'll talk to you guys at school or something, then." With a wave at Hunter and kiss for Riley, Lucas quickly rushed out of the cafe. Once outside, he took out his. 

 

  
**[text: Zay]:** hey zay can i come over? i need to stay away from home right now. 

 

  
**[text]:** yeah sure i'm just watching netflix anyway

 

 


End file.
